Untitled - The Alfred Russel Wallace Website

FROM MANAOS TO TARAPOTO 35
the steep perpendicular walls which confine these
narrows, the Peruvians say very expressively that
the rivers in such places are boxed in ("encajonado").
The pongo of the Huallaga commences a little
above Yurimaguas, and it takes two days to ascend
it when the river is pretty low when it is high the
pongo is impassable. Above the pongo are three
of the worst malos pasos (rapids and falls) in the
whole river. . . .
The principal inhabitant of Tarapoto is a
Spaniard (a native of Mallorca) named Don Ignacio
Morey. We had known each other by name some
years, and he had signified
to me that if I would
visit Tarapoto he would assist me as far as lay in
his power. From Yurimaguas I had advised him
of my approach, and he was kind enough
to send a
couple of mules to meet me at Juan Guerra.
When you consider the amphibious life I had led
for six years, during a great part of which period
I had not so much as set sight on a horse, and that
for several years before leaving England I had
discontinued equestrian exercises, you
will under-
stand that I found the transition from a canoe to
a horse rather abrupt. I am, however, too old a
traveller to be taken aback by anything, and
immediately made choice of one of the two animah
sent me a large white macho, whose stride was as
long as that of a racehorse, and whose caparisons
were altogether strange to me, especially the large
wooden stirrups,
in form of a square pyramid,
the whole
a hole on one side for inserting the foot ;
curiously sculptured. An Knglish hors
have felt weary with such trappings, but he
have stared in dismay at the road, though one